


To Survive

by SmolPidge



Category: Elena of Avalor (Cartoon)
Genre: Can also be read as gen, F/M, Gen, also it's not very romantic or friendly as is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:55:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21953281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmolPidge/pseuds/SmolPidge
Summary: Hortensia has just lost it all to the floods. Debating on what to do next, she suddenly meets a young man on the beach who is also at a crossroads. Together, they come to the same conclusion: one does what one has to in order to survive.aka. In which Esteban and Doña Paloma meet each other in their younger years and inadvertently cause the other to take the road they take in the show.
Relationships: Esteban/Doña Paloma
Kudos: 3





	To Survive

**Author's Note:**

> This is my secret santa gift for cartoonfangirl1218 on the EOA discord server! I'm not entirely sure how I decided on this idea or why it sounds... like that, but I hope you can enjoy it regardless. Happy Holidays!
> 
> Also, this takes place right before Esteban brings Shuriki to Avalor.

Hortensia often sat by the sea to think. Sometimes she would get pinched by a troublesome crab or screamed at by an angry seagull, but for the most part, she considered the sea her friend. It greeted her after a long day’s work, soothing her aching feet when she dipped them into the water. It cooled down her sweaty palms and back with its pesky wind. She liked sitting on the smooth rocks away from the shore and watching the water’s flow and ebb. She would close her eyes, take a long whiff of salty air, and enjoy the sun hitting her face. 

Hortensia would never regret working long days on her family’s cattle ranch, but she would regret ever trusting those waters. The flooded sea that had taken everything from her when the rains came wouldn’t be allowed to take anything of hers ever again. 

Her family had warned her against returning to the sea that day. “What if the sea decides to take you too?” they feared, but Hortensia had insisted. She would keep her distance, of course, but she had to find answers, and unfortunately, there was no better place to think now that everything had been washed away. Besides, maybe there she would be able to find out why the sea had betrayed her so. 

So she sat. Same rock, same sea, different attitude, and a lot more thoughts than usual. Thoughts of what she was supposed to do next. Their savings wouldn’t last them forever, and with no tools or cows left, the chances of her ranch ever making a comeback were little to none. 

She ignored the salt itching her skin as she sat, pensive, waiting for the answers to her questions to start pouring in. 

“Um, excuse me?”

Hortensia, lost in thought, almost didn’t notice the young man a few feet away from her. Probably not too much older than her, he stood attentively in a crimson and gold coat. His curly hair and long face looked familiar to her somehow, but she couldn’t pinpoint why. 

“Yes?” Hortensia tensed slightly. She wasn’t used to visitors. Despite the beautiful beaches in her coastal town, tourists were rare. She had been trained to believe that any new faces could be pirates. Granted, the man didn’t look anything like she would have imagined a pirate to look like, but she’d never actually seen one, so better safe than sorry. 

“Can I ask you to evacuate the premises?” the man continued after catching her attention. “I, uh, have some rather urgent matters to attend to here, and it would be rather bothersome if you remained.”

_ Okay, maybe not a pirate.  _

Hortensia raised an eyebrow. “Is it because of the flood?”

“Yes!” the man answered a little too enthusiastically. Hortensia could tell he was lying, at least partially, but she frankly couldn’t care less. What difference did it actually make? She’d already been sitting there long enough already. 

“Well, okay I guess.” Still, Hortensia didn’t move. She intended to, but her legs wouldn’t move. The man didn’t make any moves to force her out either. 

“Why are you out here anyway?” he asked. 

“Just thinking.” She wished she could be doing anything else, but there really wasn’t much left to do. 

“About?”

As nosy as the man was, Hortensia felt compelled to answer. She had no one else to talk to, after all, and he seemed genuinely interested. Maybe he was the sign she’d asked for. “The future, mostly.”

The man chuckled. “Funny. So am I.” 

“Oh, really?” 

He nodded. He took a seat beside her rock on the sand, his legs tucked under him so neatly that Hortensia wondered where he’d come from to have such peculiar manners. “I’ve just been doubting myself lately.” 

“That makes two of us.” Hortensia lets her legs dangle off the edge of the rock. 

“And? What in particular has got you so bothered?”

Hortensia didn’t see the point in hiding it. “My ranch was destroyed by the flood.”

“Oh.” The man was clearly not expecting such an answer. His eyes grew wide as he looked up at her. “Uh… sorry to hear that.”

“Relax.” Hortensia shrugged. “It’s not like it was your fault.”

“This is true.”

A bout of awkward silence transpired between the two. Hortensia found it odd that the man still hadn’t shooed her off, but she was grateful for it. She still had no answers, but looking into the ocean eased her nerves a little, as ironic as that sounded. 

“What do you think you’ll do next?” the man broke the silence. “I mean, that sounds like it must come with some terrible consequences.”

Hortensia nodded. “You’ve got that right. I really don’t know, though.”

“No idea at all?”

Hortensia paused, surprised by the intensity in which the man had said his last words. “Well, I  _ have  _ considered traveling to the city. I could maybe find work there.” Hortensia’s gut wrenched at the thought. She had loved her ranch with all her heart, and to leave it all behind for a life in the city seemed like a dreadful prospect. If she could avoid it, she would. She just had to come up with another plan. 

“You should,” the man said with no hesitation. 

“Huh?” Hortensia raised an eyebrow. 

“One must do whatever it takes to survive, regardless of their feelings towards the matter,” the man elaborated, no longer looking at her. Instead, he looked out at the ocean, his eyes slits. 

“To survive, huh?”

“Is that not what you are aiming for?” The man turned his attention back to her. 

Hortensia shrugged. “I guess you’re right. But do you really think I can make it?”

The man tilted his head. “I don’t really know you, er…”

“Hortensia.”

“Hortensia.” He said her name with a certain degree of caution, almost as if he were being threatened. Hortensia chose not to question it as he continued, “I don’t really know you, but I’m sure you can do it.”

“How come?”

“Because you need to survive. If that’s the case, you’ll find a way.” 

Hortensia gave a small smile. He was right. Regardless of the struggle, she would make it. She had to. 

She meant to reply, but noticed something in the distance. “Who is that?” 

“Hm? _ ”  _ The man peered to where Hortensia pointed. Farther along the coast, another man was lugging a small boat into the shore. “Oh, Victor.”

“Is he with you?”

“I suppose you can say that.”

“Is it time I left?”

“You can stay a little while longer.” The man pressed his lips together, observing his comrade in the distance. 

“So then, what about you?” Hortensia dared ask.

“Excuse me?”

“What have you been thinking about?” 

The man sighed. “Well, I guess I’ve been thinking about my own survival too.” 

Hortensia looked him up and down. “You?” Judging by his attire and etiquette, this man wasn’t lacking in much of anything. Her family had told her on several occasions that she was quick to make assumptions, but she couldn’t help but think she was right this time. 

The man must have gathered as much. “I may not be missing food or clothes or anything like that,” he explained, “but I still feel like I’m missing  _ something _ .” 

“That being?” 

"I'm not entirely sure."

“Esteban! It’s time!” Victor’s voice reached the pair, albeit faintly. Hortensia turned to see him jumping up and down, arms raised over his head to signal to his companion.

_ Esteban. That name sounds familiar too.  _

“Well, that’s my cue,” Esteban said, ignoring her question. 

“And mine, I take it?” 

“Right.” Esteban nodded, bringing himself up to his feet. 

“I wish you the best, Esteban.” Hortensia hopped off her rock. “Whatever it is you’re missing, I hope you find it.” As curious as she was, she didn’t really need to know; she currently had her own troubles to deal with. 

“What makes you say that?”

“Because you need to survive, one way or another.”

“This is true.” Esteban smiled. “In that case, I’d better get a move on.”

“So should I.”

“Esteban!” Victor shouted once more. The little boat he’d been tugging earlier was now floating in the shore, a thin rope the only thing keeping it from drifting away. 

“It was a pleasure speaking with you, if only for a moment.” Esteban held out his arm for a parting handshake. 

Hortensia shook it. “Likewise.”

* * *

The next time Hortensia saw Esteban was fifteen years later, after recently moving from Nueva Vista to the capital city of Avalor. Her trading business had really taken off over the last few years, so now was the time to make her move on the Magister of Trade position she’d been vying for nearly a decade. 

“Chancellor Esteban, this is Doña Paloma. She’s running for Magister of Trade after various successful trading ventures in Nueva Vista,” Shuriki had introduced the two. “I’m sure that if she is elected, she’ll make Avalor all the more wealthier.”

Hortensia nodded. “That  _ is  _ my intention!” she agreed, clapping her hands together. She hid her fear well. She knew full well that one wrong move with the Queen could end her entire career. 

Esteban hadn’t seemed to recognize her at first. Considering she’d practically been in rags the last time they’d seen each other, she wasn’t entirely surprised. On the other hand, save for a couple gray hairs and a mustache, he looked nearly identical. 

At some point he must have recognized her, maybe when they shook hands, maybe when she scooched over to him ever so slightly. He said nothing for the rest of the talk, standing idly by Shuriki’s side with a frown on his face. It was only when she finished that he approached Hortensia properly.

“I see that I was right about you.” Esteban held back as Queen Shuriki made her way back to her carriage. 

“Well, I don’t mean to brag.” Hortensia whipped out her fan. “But I think I did well for myself, indeed.”

“Well, that makes one of us, then.” Esteban didn’t look at her as he said that. Queen Shuriki was already waiting for him. 

“Why? Did you never find out what you were missing?”

“Oh, I found out.” Esteban flipped his hair. “I just… haven’t attained it yet.” 

“Do you think you ever will?”

“That depends.” Before Hortensia could ask anything else, he added, "By the way, you best not disappoint Shuriki."

He then walked back to the carriage without another word before Shuriki could throw another one of her fits.

Hortensia didn’t think too much of that encounter afterwards. As far as she was concerned, Esteban was surviving just fine. Not anyone got to be by the Queen's side like that. What more could he possibly be missing? She'd have to ask him some other time; at the moment, she had her hands tied making sure she wasn't the next one on Avalor's most wanted list.


End file.
